Cat-Burglar
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: What if a different Harry went to the Wizarding world, but returned to Gringotts without Hagrid? A Harry who was not the type of hero Dumbledore wanted, but someone willing to steal? Harry is a cat burglar, and he wants nothing to do with the magical world.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter, I just own this story.

Please do not say this story is cliche or anything like that. I am just writing what I want to write. My thanks to White Angel of Auralon for the idea of draining Horcruxes.

Please let me know what you think.

* * *

Cat burglar.

Harry smirked as he walked back into Gringotts - Mother Claudia's training had certainly paid off, and since Hagrid was just so gullible it wasn't funny it was just too easy to escape the train travelling back to the Dursleys, fully expecting Harry to travel back to Privet Drive since Harry had _promised _he would.

God, what a moron!

As if he'd promise something like that, but if it helped in any of his long-term plans, then Harry would tell the lie a million times if he needed to, but in truth, it would have been straightforward to escape anyway if that were the case. Harry shook his head, pausing to look up at the Gringotts building. In there was a bank that contained information about his family, and since Hagrid had refused to give him any real answers to some of his fishing questions, he had decided to try to find his answers elsewhere. He smirked as he remembered the number of times he had been punished by the Dursleys simply for asking innocent questions about his parents, only to receive some really nasty beatings as a result, but his look turned malevolent; if Hagrid thought he was going back to those bastards, he had another thing coming. He hoped the goblins had answers for him, and when he had been here only a few hours ago he had been close to getting them and truthfully he would prefer it from bankers rather than a man who didn't seem to be interested.

In any case, the bank would be obligated to tell him some details about his family, unless of course there was conspiracy where the _Boy Who Lived _was not meant to find out too much.

Harry frowned as he thought about the title. He liked being famous for having no parents. Sure, he understood he would be famous for surviving the night the Dark Lord known as Voldemort vanished, but he didn't like the idea of having fame and accolades - he even had a name, for fuck's sake - when his parents were gone.

Even worse, he had come across a few adventure books with his name on it. The fact people were making money off of his name made him sick, but for the time being he had no idea what he could do to stop it.

He didn't know why he had survived whereas his parents hadn't, but being given a nickname for that was awful, especially if this killing curse was unblockable, but he didn't understand why he had been placed on a pedestal.

Harry walked over to a free teller and slipped his key out of his pocket, pleased the goblin teller who'd taken him and Hagrid down to the vault his parents had set aside for his use had given him the key and not Hagrid.

_Something _just didn't add up for him, and he knew the headmaster of Hogwarts was at the centre of it all. He would have discounted the fact not only did Dumbledore have a hold on his Gringott's account key, which was worrying in itself since there was nothing to stop him from trying to take his money, although Harry doubted it was likely; the goblins did not strike him as the type of people who would allow that sort of thing from happening, and their security procedures for the vaults alone were scary in themselves.

But Dumbledore was responsible for him being placed with the Dursleys. It had taken Harry a few minutes to get the full story from Hagrid with only a few innocent questions, but the large man fell for it all without him needing to apply his full acting experience, again a courtesy of his former life on the streets which were then augmented by Mother Claudia.

While Harry waited in line for the teller to be free, he thought back about what Hagrid had told him about the night he had been left on the Dursley's doorstep. The huge fool didn't even seem to think there was anything inherently wrong about leaving a child on the doorstep of a house in the middle of the night, in November. Harry didn't think Hagrid was nasty, or just stupid. He was just a bit childlike and naive about how the world worked, but it was clear Hagrid was thoughtless as well about the long term consequences. So, when he saw baby Harry dropped off on the doorstep, Hagrid wouldn't think about things like kidnapping, the cold, or anything like that.

But Dumbledore and this woman, Minerva McGonagall, didn't strike him as inherently stupid, but surely it had occurred to them to be a bit more thoughtful about his health and welfare. It was a November night, for God's Sake; surely they could tell how _cold it was, _and that even with their magic, there was nothing to stop a baby from being kidnapped in the middle of the night after they had left.

Sometimes Harry wished he _had_, and Hagrid even admitted McGonagall had claimed the Dursleys were "the worst sort of muggles imaginable."

_That's an understatement, _Harry thought to himself as he thought about the injuries he had sustained over the years thanks to the Dursleys before he had escaped Number 4 when he had been dropped off on Mrs Figg, only for him to find a way to escape.

_Although I exchanged one bad guardian for another, _Harry thought to himself as he remembered how he had spent months on the streets of London after finding a way to get to the city, joining that gang of pickpockets, only to discover they were actually in Mother Claudia's gang, _but between my so-called relatives, and Mother Claudia, I'd take Claudia every day; at least she doesn't get touchy, and she actually treated me better than the Dursleys ever did, and most of her threats were full of hot air rather than anything else. _

Finally, the teller was free and Harry stepped forwards and silently placed his key on the desk. "Hello," he began politely, knowing from Mother Claudia and the other pickpockets the best way to speak to someone and get what you want was to use honey, instead of vinegar. "I was here a few hours ago, but I didn't have the opportunity to really find out some details about my family's holdings. My _escort," _Harry stumbled across the word, believing 'bodyguard' sounded too belligerent, "didn't really let me speak to any of the goblins at the time."

He was telling the truth. He had asked the goblin introduced as Griphook a few questions about his families holdings, but Hagrid kept interrupting and delivered useless platitudes stating Harry didn't really need to know that stuff without thinking that Harry had wanted to know more about his family, and he had also loudly spoken about Hogwarts like it was a theme park, and eventually Griphook had given up trying to speak to Harry since there was no point if he was continually interrupted.

That was one of the reasons Harry had come back. He had also wanted to spend a few hours exploring the magical shopping district of Diagon only Alley, and find out a few more things about the magical world and what he could expect. Hagrid had kept him away from some of the shops, and Harry wanted to find out why; hell, he had even made sure Harry got a trunk with no proper magical features, and he had the hard task of stopping Harry from buying some of the books in Flourish & Blotts, saying he wouldn't understand him, or something along those lines. Harry wasn't sure, but he was positive Hagrid was deliberately trying to keep him from learning too much about the magical world, and since he had been trying to send him back to the Dursleys, and he hadn't even

The goblin held the key thoughtfully in his hands. "Of course, Mr Potter. I shall summon one of my colleagues; he can help you with your enquiries."

It took a few moments for the new goblin to arrive. "Please follow me," the goblin ordered neutrally.

Harry followed on, mentally wondering if he could ask the goblin if he could teach him how to sound so neutral even though it was clear the goblins didn't really like wizards, but he decided it was going too far. He followed the goblin into a very well appointed office with a wall containing ledgers marked with the names of various families.

As soon as he had sat down, the goblin raised his hand and one of the ledgers flew over from the shelf and into his hand. The goblin opened it up and studied it for a few moments before he turned his attention to the young boy in front of him.

"We have been trying to get in touch with you for some time, Mr Potter. Griphook had been ordered to take you from Hagrid, but he was unsuccessful. However, since you have returned today, you have saved us the trouble of sending out an unanswered statement."

"A statement?" Harry echoed, realising quickly what the goblin was saying since he had given Mother Claudia and Uncle Vernon their bank statements more than once. "You mean, you've sent out any mail to me?"

"Of course," the goblin replied in a testy manner. "How else can we inform our clients of their holdings in a reliable manner without them having to leave their workplaces, or their current activities to visit us?"

"No, I understand the principle of the statements, sir. It's just I have never received any mail from the magical world except for my recent Hogwarts letter," Harry said, choosing his words carefully.

The goblin's expression seemed to become more ghoulish, Harry took it to mean the goblin was getting annoyed. "I see," he said slowly clearly in thought. "So why have you not come to Gringotts?"

"I didn't know about the magical world until my recent birthday. Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundkeeper, came to where I was living. He told me about the magical world, and how I had a place at Hogwarts."

"And your key?" the goblin leaned in closer, his eyes narrowed.

"Hagrid had it," Harry replied.

The goblin hissed and reared back angrily. "Dumbledore! Why will that fool wizard never cease to meddle in others affairs? It's almost as if he is so bored with his life he cannot help but interfere!"

Harry was taken by surprise by the goblin's anger, but he recovered as quickly as he could. "So what has Dumbledore done?"

The goblin regained control over himself with effort. "It seems likely Dumbledore has ensured you don't receive any mail from anyone; the people sending you gifts for what took place when you were baby, birthday and Christmas presents, bank statements, and things like that."

Harry looked away, breathing in deeply so the goblin wouldn't see how furious he was. "Dumbledore did leave me on the doorstep of my aunt's house my mother's sister. Just the doorstep, he didn't bother to knock on the door and explain things. Nothing. The Dursleys didn't treat me well, and every time someone tried to do something about it, the person either changed their minds or forgot about it."

The goblin was doing his best not to show how surprised he was to hear this. From the way the young wizard was describing the events in question, it sounded like someone was manipulating the minds of them muggles involved. "I think it would be a good idea if we have you examined by our healers, Mr Potter. You have just described to me memory charms and other mind manipulation techniques."

"What, you mean wizards can make people forget things?" Harry asked, rethinking his contempt for the people who had forgotten everything about the abuse he had suffered at Number 4.

"Yes. We call them memory charms, although they are, as humans say, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mind magics," the goblin replied.

Harry didn't like the thought of anyone wiping his memories, and as he sat there, thinking, he wondered if there had been moments where someone had wiped his own memory. He quickly reached a decision. "Can we do it now, please?" he asked, moving so he could stand up again. "I have a horrible feeling someone altered my own memories."

The goblin nodded.

XXX

Harry was sitting in the goblin medical wing, seething with rage. Someone had altered his memories, and it had happened more than once. He had just discovered he had tried running away from the Dursleys more than once, only to find himself back and to make things worse he had been taken back, and his mind had been wiped.

He had even seen the faces of the people who had carried it out, and there had been more than one.

One of them was the little weirdo he had seen in the streets a long time ago, another was that other guy who had been speaking in the open, but one of the most predominant figures had been a tall old man whose appearance put him in mind of the classical image of Merlin. Once the goblins had released the memories of how he had come so close to escaping Privet Drive, Harry had gladly given them the faces of the people responsible for wiping his mind. Apparently they were going to release the pictures and the facts to a wizarding news outlet to cripple Dumbledore's image while giving the same information to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the International Confederation of Wizards so then the British Ministry wouldn't sweep this mess under the rug, as it had the nasty habit of doing.

Harry didn't care. He just wanted to think.

He could see now he had been lucky to have escaped when the Dursleys were on holiday. In hindsight, it had been the best idea to have escaped from her since whatever means Dumbledore had of tracking him only worked with Number 4. He didn't know how, but he didn't care.

He just couldn't believe he had come so close, three times, only for one of Dumbledore's stooges to meddle and stop him. The goblins had also found something else, something in his scar, but they were currently going over their findings before they told him what they had found. In the meantime, he thought about what he was going to do.

There was no way he was going anywhere near Hogwarts. He didn't care how the magical world took it, and he didn't want to know. He was going to find a different school and he wasn't planning on coming back to the magical world in Britain. No way. Not if they allowed people like Dumbledore to run around, him and his cronies. What kind of mind would justify doing that to a child, it made no sense?

"Mr Potter?"

Harry looked up into the face of one of the healers, and he saw the goblin was angry, very angry. "What's wrong?"

"We have finished our deliberations about what is in your scar. It isn't a curse. It's a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul known to you as Lord Voldemort," the goblin explained, stumbling a little on the name of the Dark Wizard in the same manner Hagrid had when he had told Harry the story of what had happened to his parents. "

"His soul?" Harry repeated. "Why have I got it, and why are you so angry about it?"

He knew it wasn't a good idea to point out the current emotional state of the goblins, but he wanted clear answers even if he ran the risk of further annoying the goblins.

The healer thankfully wasn't angry with the fact his temperament was being pointed out. "One of the most sacred laws of magic is you do not touch your soul. The soul is extremely important to the health, the magic, and the mental wellbeing of a wizard or a witch. You will sooner or later hear the term 'pureblood,' where many wizards believe they are better than everyone else because they have magical ancestry going back years, but one of the definitions for the term is magic is in the blood. It isn't, although the magic is carried by the blood. The main source is within the soul itself."

Harry tilted his head curiously as he tried to work it out. "I guess I can see the logic behind that. But I take it it is possible to split the soul?"

"It is. It is known as a Horcrux. It's basically a flawed theory which allows immortality. I won't tell you how it is done, but the basics are you prepare the soul in a vile ritual, prepare a container to house the soul piece, and then you kill someone with an innocent soul."

"Innocent..? You don't mean a child, do you?" Harry whispered, thinking it made sense that Voldemort must have been preparing to make him into one of these Horcruxes.

The goblin nodded. "It is one of the most disgusting things you could do with magic. In fact, this new information does help us make sense of the Dark Lord's motivations and some of his actions. Many magical families were wiped out, including children. But fortunately, we can help."

"How?" Harry looked intrigued and excited at the thought of having this soul fragment removed.

"We can remove the fragment, and we can drain it of its magic. At the same time, we can connect the Horcrux to our wards - our magical defences - and drain the Dark Lord of his magic. It will kill him, and he will never return."

Harry had never been party to a killing before. Being a pickpocket and a cat burglar were two things, but being a murderer was something he had never considered himself becoming. Oh, he had heard from Mother Claudia how some of the kids she had trained had gone on to become home invaders or bank robbers, but Harry had never considered becoming one of them, especially since there was always the chance something could go wrong.

But in this case…

Harry didn't know much about Voldemort, but he had heard enough to know he was a genocidal monster, and if the goblins were right he had been insane when he had split his soul. He nodded at last. "Let's do it. Also, I would like to speak to someone about the possibility of changing schools. After what I've heard him do, I don't want to go anywhere near Dumbledore, or know anyone who works with him."

The goblin healer nodded. "I think we can arrange that, Mr Potter," he promised.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing, just this story. Please let me know what you think.

* * *

Cat Burglar.

Four Years Later.

Harry smirked as he slowly made his way up the wall separating the property from the real world while he used his magic to adhere to the wall to give his grip a bit more strength. When he got to the top, relieved by the notice-me-not charms he had placed over himself, Harry jumped down, thankful for the cushioning charms he had placed on his legs and knees to soak up the kinetic energy which would have felt to his muscles like the aftershocks of an earthquake. Once on the ground, he took a moment to admire the property in front of him.

It was a large, grand property which was typical of this part of Australia. It was on a double-storey with a balcony overlooking the expansive front garden. Harry tried to estimate how much it cost to actually live in a place like this, but he decided it made little difference to him. He could see the lights were on in the downstairs windows, but the young burglar knew from experience you could have a number of lights on downstairs, but there could be somebody upstairs.

Sliding his wand out of his pocket, Harry cast the revelio spell and pointed the tip of his wand at the top floor. There was no sign of anyone in the upper storey, so he should be safe. While he was holding onto his wand, he was tempted to disable any of the houses' security systems, but he decided against it; he didn't want to be seen as one of those burglars who were clever, and give the police a vital clue or something like that which could end up with his capture, if he was a muggle burglar of course.

Harry slipped into the shadows, and he crept silently towards the house very carefully in case one of the homeowners came out on impulse. When he came to the wall with a pipe, Harry rubbed his hands and examined it for a moment before he walked off and took off his backpack and pulled out a collapsible ladder. After he spent a few moments setting it up, he gently placed it against the balcony grating and he slowly began his climb up until he had reached the top and he had swung his body over the rail.

Once on the balcony, Harry examined the lock for a moment before he slipped out of his backpack a simple and relatively easy to use a blowtorch of the lock. It took him only a few seconds to burn through the lock and force his way inside.

As he went through the upper floor of the house, Harry couldn't help but think about how many twists and turns his life had taken ever since the day he had turned down Hogwarts.

He had opted to attend a school in China mostly because he had wanted to study magic with a different language in order to broaden his mind and his horizons. Yes, okay, putting him under the care of the Chinese Ministry had been a risk, he hadn't had that much alternative but to hope the Chinese would be tolerant of him until he had become an adult in the eyes of the magical world.

The outcry of his not wanting to attend Hogwarts and some of the reasons why had taken the magical world of Britain by storm; indeed, Harry had discovered, much to his annoyance although the bitch couldn't actually do it, someone in the British Ministry had wanted to turn down his wishes because she had claimed _"as the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter is expected to go to Hogwarts. After all, what would his parents say?" _

This stupid woman, one Dolores Umbridge hadn't been able to change anything, and Harry was eternally grateful he hadn't even met the woman who seemed to have _such great insight into what he thought he needed in his life,_ and soon Harry had gone to China in order to learn magic, and he had done so with great confidentiality. Harry hadn't been bothered by anyone from Britain aside from the Goblins who ran his Gringotts account. Dumbledore and many of his associates had also come under fire for the times they had wiped his memory, and they had been punished accordingly although what exactly had happened to them, Harry neither knew nor cared. The outcry had shaken the foundations of Magical Britain when the goblins themselves had released a statement to the press via their lawyers that the Boy Who Lived had never received any of the fan mail, that he had grown up alone and abused, which only succeeded in shattering Dumbledore's image even more. The old wizard was still under investigation as the year went by as so many people were clamouring for him either to be arrested for what he had done to their boy hero, or some of them saying the accounts were all lies.

Albus Dumbledore had been an important member in the magical community with a tremendous reputation, and from the brief history course Harry had taken to study the man who had practically sentenced him to life in hell, Harry could very well get a very good idea over some of the reasons for the public denial.

Still, later on, he received yet another blow.

The goblins, listening to his remarks about it being poetic, had drained Voldemort and his Horcruxes on the very anniversary of his parents' deaths, unfortunately, he hadn't expected one of the professors of Hogwarts, according to the newspaper account of the event in question, to diesinker he had been carrying Voldemort's soul.

Harry had been horrified to discover that Voldemort had been in Hogwarts. Dumbledore, who had barely managed to survive the last blow to his prestige, received a second blow when Voldemort was discovered in Hogwarts. The fact the Dark Lord had been in the school for two months with their children, and he hadn't even known about it, had done far more to damage Dumbledore's image than anything else.

For four years, Harry had been studying in China, and he had learnt a great deal which was far more than anything he would have learnt at Hogwarts. Not only had he studied several magical languages, but he had studied so many diverse subjects, some of which Hogwarts itself only supplied as elective choices in the second year, and were taken up in the third year and above.

Harry had already shown his proficiency with transfiguration, charms, defence, runes, arithmancy, and several other subjects. He now realised if he had gone to Hogwarts, he would have been scrutinised and he would have needed to dumb himself down so he wouldn't have excelled to keep himself under the radar.

There were other subjects he would have expected from a muggle school, such as Magical Art, Magical Acting, and Magical Music, things like that. China was very big on culture whereas in countries like Britain it virtually did not exist.

Harry held up his torch as he went through the bedrooms. It was the summer before his fifth year where he would be studying up his OWLs, but so far he was on holiday.

He had come to Australia because he had longed to see the country, and the wildlife while sampling some of their local traditions. At the same time, why couldn't he become stinking rich?

The magical world didn't really care what he did, and as long as he had the permission of the Chinese Ministry, there was nothing the Australian Magical State could do about it, although he needed to adhere to their rules and regulations, which meant he could use magic providing he had a good reason, but since he was using a custom made wand which he had secretly gotten hold of ages ago, he was able to bend the rules. Harry gently walked through the house, thankful he had placed a few silencing spells on his feet, but he still took precautions. His burglary took a good few more minutes before he could leave.

XXX

A few days later, Harry was sitting on a tourist boat in a different part of Australia while he held a camera in his hands so he could take a few pictures. He gasped when the water exploded, and the mass of a crocodile broke the surface, a small tower of scaly muscle with fierce teeth held in jaws capable of snapping a human body in half, spraying water everywhere.

Harry took a few pictures of the crocodile. This was essentially how he had spent the last few weeks, really. He would explore Australia during the day, and then he would either explore it, or party during the night like a regular teenager, or he would commit a burglary.

As he snapped a few more pictures while he looked out over the surface of the water, wondering if there were other crocodiles beneath the surface, lurking in the depths, Harry knew that he would be going home tonight, but it didn't matter really. He had already managed to commit several burglaries, sometimes on the same night.


	3. Chapter 3

Cat-Burglar.

Five Years later

If there's one thing I love about magic, it's just how easy it made my life since I discovered its existence, Harry thought to himself as he crept through the garden while his padded feet didn't make a sound as he approached the house. Thanks to his cat form's sense of smell, Harry could tell the cat this family-owned was out, and he wouldn't be back for some time, although Harry wasn't worried about that.

When he got close to the house he sat on his hind legs and he looked up at the property. He had been an animagus for a good few years now ever since he had asked the Transfiguration professor at the school he had been attending since he had turned eleven for help and advice. It had taken him the best part of a year to accomplish the task of becoming a cat animagus, but when he had managed it he'd been delighted since it was a great achievement, and it had been one of the crowning glories of his Transfiguration mastery.

He had gained several masteries over the years. The first two had been masteries for Transfiguration and Charms, the next two had been for Warding and Runes. Later for Arithmancy and Defence, while he had researched a Healing mastery until he had gotten it a few ago, along with several other masteries he had managed to gather from a host of other countries which specialised in them.

The house which was looming up above him was actually quite nice, and quite classy as well as pricey, but that was what he'd expected from a house in LA. He saw a light on, but it was very faint and it wasn't really a deterrent like it would have been for a conventional burglar. In any case, he had watched as the family left for bed a couple of hours ago which gave him the time to go on a neighbourhood wander around for a bit before he came back.

But while he was sitting there, Harry took the moment to think about his time in America.

He had just come to the country to see America, really. He had always wanted to visit several great cities and landmarks while he travelled the world and broadened his mind. The fact he was playing a few cons and committing burglaries was just another attractive aside.

It hadn't been difficult for him to get his visitors VISA from the MACUSA, thanks to his masteries which showed he was a powerful and learned wizard who was qualified to have the VISA. It was dangerous for a wizard to go out into the muggle world in this country given their history.

Harry had done a lot of research, and while he couldn't understand why anyone from the magical world would be so unbelievably stupid to show a muggle, any muggle, magic and her wand, he could very well understand why the anti-magic group which the muggle had been a member of had used it as the opportunity to find the wizards and witches of America. It had been a nightmare for the MACUSA since it was a major breach in the Statute of Secrecy.

The MACUSA were immensely strict with magic being shown to muggles, or No-Mags as they were referred to here, a name Harry actually approved of, and he'd already encountered it more than once in other countries, and Harry had already been told if he used magic if he were under the age of seventeen or eighteen in a muggle area outside one of the magical schools, like Salems or Illvermorny, then he would find himself immediately confronted with the Aurors. The laws were so strict it was forbidden just to be friends with anyone outside of the magical world. Harry could understand their concerns, and it just served to highlight his own support of the Statute. He had grown up in an abusive home for a few years before he'd met Mother Claudia who had turned him into the burglar he was, and now he knew the Dursleys hated and feared him because of his magic, he had worked out Hagrid was right.

Wizards were better off on their own, although he had no doubt many muggles would want to wipe them out because of their fear and ignorance, and their inability to leave well alone.

America just had a host of bad luck. In the 1920s, Grindelwald had tried to use an obscurial for his own plans, and he had risked the exposure of their world. Harry knew Grindelwald had wanted the revelation to occur, so then it would prove his own points about the Statute of Secrecy. The obscurial had been the centre of a catastrophe after it killed several muggles and had nearly revealed the existence of magic, which would have played into the plans of so many.

Newt Scamander's Thunderbird had saved them all, as it delivered a powerful mixture which allowed for the memories of the muggles to be changed, but it had been a close call.

The MACUSA were understandably very cautious and they took magical activity in the muggle world very seriously. Harry had no desire to get on their bad side, no matter what. He had known for a long time if he arrived in America and carried out any of his burglaries, he would need to use his animagus form, which gave him a loophole around the American's laws. All he had to do was to slip into the house either through the cat flap, or through an open window, find the swag, and then get out, and if he needed to change himself back he would need to do so in private, and then he would transform back. Harry looked at the house carefully for a moment before he sauntered towards it while he relied on his cat senses to give him an accurate picture of what was going on.

Harry pushed his head through the cat flap, sniffing at the scents of everyone in the house. _Oh, Merlin….what the hell do these people use to clean their clothes and their home. It _stinks _in here? _

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, Harry slowly stepped into the house and wandered around the kitchen and dining areas. He jumped onto a nearby chair, then he jumped onto the table and looked around. He had a commanding view of the area, and he saw the line of photographs around on the wall of a loving family, with two children. Harry's cat form looked at it dispassionately. He had learnt over the years it didn't matter if someone had kids or not, they were targets. In any case, this place reminded him vividly of the Dursleys, with their pictures of Dudley.

Harry pushed those thoughts to one side and he went through the house slowly although he didn't transform back into his human form. He went upstairs and checked on the family. He looked in at the little kids, looking at them enviously when he saw the happiness in their faces, the peace. He turned around and left them. They didn't interest him. He went to the parent's room, transforming back into his human form and taking out a bottle of sleeping potion and poured the potion into a spray gun. He took out the antidote. He gulped down the antidote, and he sprayed the potion in the air for a second before he went inside, his senses catching the scent of the potion instantly but thanks to the antidote he was able to resist the strength of the potion, although it was fairly mild by magical standards, but it would keep these muggles asleep for longer. Harry took out a pocket torch and he turned it on, scanning the things in the bedroom. He found a number of jewellery boxes, and he put them into his pack before he walked out of the room. He walked downstairs in his human form and he searched the lower floor for anything else he could steal, coming across an office where he found a few dollar bills. He stuffed them into his pocket, already planning on putting them into the muggle bank account he had set up when he had first arrived in America.

Harry finished his burglary, and he walked towards the cat flap, transforming into his animagus form on the way before he went out again.

XXX

_You have to hand it to celebs, they really know how to make it easy for criminals to break in. Perhaps I should come more frequently to America, especially to Hollywood so I can do it again and again, and with how often they're burgled, I should be able to get away with it.._

Harry didn't know the name of the celebrity he was about to burgle; there were so many of them it was a virtual chore just trying to find out anything about them. All he knew about the celeb were the facts she was rich, and even better she was out. God knew where, and frankly who cared?

Harry padded over to the door softly in his animagus form, but as he approached his nose picked up something he had learnt to fear even before he had learnt about the existence of magic.

A dog.

Harry sniffed the air again. From the smell, the dog hadn't been outside for hours. To be honest, for wily burglars a dog wasn't an obstacle, though it did make them think. Dogs could be easy to befriend, provided you fed them, and once you did that they were - no pun intended - like pussycats. But Harry wondered if that was going to happen here.

Seeing no alternative, he transformed back into his human form slowly while he hoped and prayed the MACUSA didn't pick up on anything he did here; just because he had learnt they couldn't pick up animagi transformations did not necessarily mean they wouldn't pick up a trace of his wand if he had to use it.

He walked over to the window and peered inside. There was no sign of any movement, no sign of a dog's tail, nothing. Harry licked his lips, and he knocked on the door. It was just a little tap - but it was enough!

A huge dog slammed into the window with enough force to make the glass shudder, and it began barking its head off. Harry, stunned by the dog's sudden appearance and his attack took a moment to study it.

"Shit!" he cursed when he recognised the breed.

It was a German shepherd dog, a big one. And it was barking its head off. Harry winced, and he slipped out his wand and he decided to risk it. He flicked it and put up a few silencing charms around the property before the dog's barking caught the attention of anyone else. The dog kept barking on and on, unknowing its barks were no longer being heard. Harry glared at the animal, and he waved his wand at the house to induce a sleeping ward around the house.

Sleeping wards were rather simple acts of magic to perform, usually performed by Healers and parents to make their charges get some sleep, but he hoped it had the strength needed to get the dog to fall asleep.

The dog kept barking, but they quickly changed their timbre, and then the dog seemed to be squinting at him to focus properly on him before it yawned and laid down on the floor.

Harry didn't remove the wards for about ten minutes while he waited to be certain if the dog was now truly and properly asleep. When he was satisfied the spell had worked, Harry went to the door and he flicked his wand at it, removing the ward and unlocking the door at the same time. He walked into the house cautiously, his eyes focused on the sleeping form of the dog. The dog was sleeping peacefully and naturally, but he waved his wand and created a smaller version of the sleeping ward spell over the dog to make sure the animal kept on sleeping.

Once that task was taken care of, Harry went through the house.

He cleared out the woman's wardrobe of clothes and shoes, knowing he was about to make a small fortune there alone, but he was careful since he knew he'd need to get all of this crap out of the house. The celebrity's jewellery collection was quite large, and it offered such a tempting target Harry could not resist.

Harry picked up everything he had stolen, and he walked out through the backdoor. He knew he couldn't easily transform into his cat form with everything he was carrying, but the evening had been highly successful even without the dog getting in the way.


	4. Chapter 4

And this is it. The final chapter. I've deliberately left the last bit like a cliffhanger, so I might write something to accompany the story. Enjoy.

* * *

Cat Burglar.

Harry looked around the simple house he had purchased, admitting he had chosen this new house extremely well. True, it might not be like the residence he had stayed in when he had been a ward of the Chinese magical world, and some of the furnishings might be simpler compared to what he had encountered, but he had time. A new house would take time for him to settle down in, and he had to admit the old fable of finding a house which you liked was true after all.

He had been looking for a place to reside properly for months and months, and he had been searching in several other countries and making arrangements to change his citizenship in both the magical and the muggle worlds, and as a result, he hadn't really had time to do anything but the simplest of burglaries.

Harry had been searching for a place to live in, and he had turned his attention abroad. Harry didn't want to live in Britain; just because he had roots there didn't mean he wanted anything to do with the country of his birth. He had already faced up to Mother Claudia, thanking her for what she had done for him, and he had even visited the magical world for a bit so he could see to the sale of some of the minor Potter properties to make some extra cash.

He didn't want to move to Magical or Muggle China either. Yeah, he had been educated in Asia, but he had always felt like an outsider there. In any case, he had wanted to make a fresh start. In the end, he had chosen Australia; he had some really nice memories there and he had spent more time there than he had in many other countries. It was nice in a way to finally say he had purchased a house of his own in Australia after deciding he preferred Australia to some of the other countries he had visited and resided in.

Harry stood up from the nice comfortable armchair he had purchased for the house, looking around the room. He hadn't gone in for anything extravagant even if he could afford it; unlike many of the celebrities in both worlds who threw their money carelessly away without thinking of the long term, Harry gone the opposite way. He had been raised in a fairly simple foster home even if Mother Claudia hadn't made life simple for him or anyone else and he had never experienced life in large houses or flats. No, he had wanted something smaller, low key. In any case, some burglars were very picky about who they chose, although some preferred to burgle anything they fancied, and he was no exception. As a result, he had chosen a fairly small house to live in.

For the time being Harry wasn't doing anything. He had no intention of committing any theft for a bit until he had gotten used to the geography of this part of Australia. At the same time, Harry was also thankful he had been snapped up as a citizen of Magical Australia. He still had yet to apply for a job, but that wasn't anything for him to worry himself about at the moment. In fact, he was torn between working in either world. He had the qualifications to work in both worlds, so it wouldn't be difficult.

In any case, he had worked in places in both worlds to gain experience, so he had that on his side. In the meantime, he would stay here, make this house into a nice home. He had plenty of time for both, looking for work in either world, planning and committing burglaries while at the same time finding contacts in this part of Australia.

Harry walked out of the room, and he slowly explored the house, mentally making a list of the things he knew he would need to make the place a home. He had already equipped it with basic furniture and he had gone out shopping to collect some food.

He was just making something for dinner when he received an owl. The bird swept through the open window, shocking him but the tired bird had just enough strength to drop a letter. Harry frowned in surprise; he hadn't seen an owl carrying a letter for a long time, a very long time. It took a moment for him to recall the last time where he had seen a country use owls to carry their post.

And then he had it. He remembered how Hogwarts had used them, but Harry had never seen any other magical country use it so the memory had been suppressed.

Harry put away his wand when he saw just how tired the owl was. He didn't recognise the breed, but he guessed the bird was a British variety. No wonder it was exhausted after flying across such a long distance.

Harry went to the fridge and he grabbed a handful of ham slices and he tore them up and placed them on a saucer. He grabbed another saucer and filled it with water before he took both to the owl. The bird gave a tired hoot of thanks and started eating and drinking.

Harry took a look at the letter, surprised. He had no idea who had sent it since he had no friends in magical Britain, or in Europe since owl post was more common there. In any case, he had not visited his home country for a long long time.

He ran his wand over the envelope, noting its thickness instantly, but he scanned for any kind of dangerous curse. Nothing. There was a mild tracking charm on it, but Harry disabled it quickly. He opened the letter and took a look at the writing.

"Dear Harry," he read clearly, "I have been trying to find you for a long time. I heard from the goblins who told me you had refused to attend Hogwarts following discovering Dumbledore's interference. I know how you feel, kiddo. Dumbledore messed things up with me as well. You see, I am your godfather."

Harry gasped as he realised who had sent the letter. Sirius Black. He remembered hearing the story. It had happened shortly after Voldemort and his Horcruxes had been drained of their magic, the Ministry had mobilised when they discovered the Death Eaters had all lost their magic, and the revelation of both Sirius having his magic, and the existence of Peter Pettigrew, who was considered to be a martyr to the light had resulted in a monumental mess of epic proportions. Not only were the Ministry guilty of sending a man who was innocent to Azkaban prison for a decade where he suffered continually because of the Dementors who resided there, he had not even been given a trial.

What made it worse was Sirius Black was Harry's godfather.

At the time Harry had been adjusting to life in the magical world, and truthfully after spending so many years of his life alone without anyone with him, Harry had decided to focus on his studies since he had no idea what type of life Sirius Black would give him. Harry had often wondered about the man, knowing the goblins were sending his results and even pictures of him growing up in another part of the world, but he had never actually gotten in touch with him.

He shook his head and focused on the letter.

"I am sorry, so sorry I let you down. I let my desire for revenge against Pettigrew cloud my judgement. That mistake robbed us both, although Dumbledore and the Ministry did their own fair share to make things worse. I have been hoping you would get in touch after you had left Britain. I don't know if you want nothing to do with me, I mean we don't even know each other. But it would be great to see you. Christmas is fast coming up. I hope you are well, and that you reply soon.

Sirius Black."

Harry closed his eyes, feeling guilty for having ignored Blacks' existence for so long. But one of the reasons he had was because he had learnt of Black's story. How in the name of god could a godfather be so careless he went off after the man who'd betrayed his friends instead of taking care of his own godson?

But truthfully you could not change history, and personally, while time travel was possible, Harry knew he wouldn't have wanted anything changed. Not one line of his history.

Why?

Being a burglar had opened doors for him. It had sharpened his mind, made him wise up to Dumbledore's manipulations and it had given him the means of being educated elsewhere, while at the same time it had made it possible for Voldemort to die. At the same time, Harry had forgotten his godfather. Why? Harry had answered that question to himself and to the headmaster of the school in China who had asked him in a quiet conference about why he was avoiding the letters to go back to Britain - they were basically invitations sent on Sirius' behalf and written by the man himself - for some do or other.

Harry had said, "_The man left me to go after revenge on his own, but at the same time I don't know where I stand with him."_

But he had failed to admit something else as well. He was afraid, afraid of what he would face.

Harry looked down at the letter. Maybe it was time to change that.

XXX

White Christmases were becoming a rarity in Britain, but they never lost their magical beauty. Everyone inside the house was laughing as they celebrated Christmas. Sirius barely heard them, although he had done his best to be the life and soul of the party, and yet he felt the weight on his shoulders.

Once the main celebrations were over, Sirius had retreated to himself.

"Sirius?" Andromeda found her cousin looking morosely out of the window looking out into the back garden of the house Andromeda and Ted lived in.

Sirius ignored her although he knew she was there. "He didn't come," he whispered.

Andromeda sighed and looked down, mentally kicking herself for being so thick. "Did you get a letter back?'

Sirius shook his head. "No."

Andromeda sighed again. "Oh, Sirius."

"It's my fault. Why, why didn't I do the right thing? Why did I run after Pettigrew?" Sirius' voice rose to a wail.

Andromeda waved him back to silence. He would disturb the other guests, and she didn't want that. "We've been over this," she told him, reminding him of the exhausting talks they'd had time and time again. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it was, Andy," Sirius looked down.

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Andromeda's daughter Nymphadora, who preferred to go by her surname, was looking around for her mother and her cousin when the door went.

She frowned, puzzled. She wasn't expecting anyone, and even if they were they would have come by floo, not by the door. Tonks slipped her wand out of her holster cautiously which was an ingrained habit. She walked to the door, seeing the silhouette of something through the white translucent curtain. She opened the door and gasped when she saw who it was.

Andromeda had managed to bring Sirius back to the party, and he was smiling again, but only those who knew him and were only a quarter drunk could see he was no longer in the mood for the party.

The sudden bang from a noisemaker spell made the guests jump and whip out their wands, but they found Tonks standing there with her wand out.

"What's going on, Nymphadora?" Andy demanded, her hand over her heart as she tried to get over her shock.

But Tonks was smiling too brightly to be put off by the use of her first name. "There's someone here," she grinned and she went rushing out and she came back within seconds, bringing in a tall, dark-haired man.

Sirius gasped. The resemblance to James Potter, the friend he had lost years ago was overwhelming. "H-Harry?"

Harry Potter smiled. "Hello, Sirius."


End file.
